Remineralization potential of apacider gel on enamel and cementum surrounding margin of ceramic restoration.

Background: Modern management of carious lesions has been targeted upon using remineralizing agents. This study investigated the remineralization potential of apacider gel (AG) and casein phosphopeptide-amorphous calcium fluoride phosphate (CA) on enamel and cementum around the cavosurface area of the ceramic margin.

Material and methods: Seventy-five extracted human mandibular molars were sectioned at 0.8 mm above and below the cemento-enamel junction (CEJ) to remove the CEJ portions and replaced them with glass ceramic disks by bonding them to the crown and root portions with resin cement. The enamel and cementum area of 4x4 mm2 surrounding ceramic was demineralized with Carbopol-907. The demineralized surfaces were treated with either AG or CA, while one group was left with no treatment (NT) and served as control. Vickers microhardness was determined before-, after demineralization, and after remineralization. The percentage of hardness recovery (%HR), and remineralization potential (%RP) were analyzed with ANOVA and Bonferroni's test (α=0.05). Polarized light microscopy (PLM) was assessed for lesion depth. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was investigated for surface alterations.

Results: Significant differences in remineralization were found upon various remineralizing agents compared to NT for both enamel and cementum (p<0.05). No significant difference in %HR and %RP was observed between AG and CA (p>0.05). However, AG signified greater decrease in lesion depth and better improvement in surface characteristics for both enamel and cementum than CA.

Conclusions: AG possesses comparable remineralization ability to CA. However, decreasing in carious lesion depth was evinced with using AG more than CA. AG was recommended as a potential remineralization material for handling initial caries for both enamel and cementum. Key words:Apacider, artificial carious lesion, CCP-ACFP, remineralizationCare Team.